Spoleto Festival sales strong at closing weekend

Signs point to a strong closing to the current run of Spoleto Festival USA despite a struggling economy.

Festival spokeswoman Paula Edwards says if the weather holds, the festival should meet or surpass its $2.6 million ticket goal.

The 17-day festival features over 140 performances and included a revival of "Flora," the first opera performed in the American colonies.

The weather is important because the festival closes Sunday evening with the traditional outdoor concert and fireworks at Middleton Place Plantation outside of Charleston.

But this season, instead of an orchestral concert, the festival is offering a performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The group plays fiddle and banjo music from the piedmont region of the Carolinas.